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Noting this for future study:
https://www.lawfareblog.com/canadian-national-security-spies-and-soleimani
https://www.lawfareblog.com/canadian-national-security-spies-and-soleimani
As far as the Qatar blockade goes, I think we all know the real target: Al Jazeera.
Tony Burman lays out that case:
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/06/17/gulf-blockade-target-isnt-qatar-its-al-jazeera-burman.html
Tony Burman lays out that case:
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/06/17/gulf-blockade-target-isnt-qatar-its-al-jazeera-burman.html
To my eyes, it's a "snapshot" map explaining a particular point in regional history. How these disputes end up resolving...?
*shrugs from a place of uncertainty*
Originally posted by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
strangemaps at A Real Map of the Middle East
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*shrugs from a place of uncertainty*
Originally posted by
strangemaps at A Real Map of the Middle EastYears of war in the Middle East have erased old borders. Here is what the map currently looks like.
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michaelgeist.ca just alerted us to this:
http://thenextweb.com/me/2012/11/29/syria-goes-dark-after-all-international-internet-connectivity-is-cut-in-the-country/
How scared should we be right now?
http://thenextweb.com/me/2012/11/29/syria-goes-dark-after-all-international-internet-connectivity-is-cut-in-the-country/
How scared should we be right now?
More bits of stuff
Feb. 12th, 2011 08:49 pmI've since heard that C-474 - AKA the Seeds Regulation Act - got voted down in the House of Commons. A shame about that. But then, I am a grandchild of farmers.
CBC's watching the aftermath of the Mubarak Resignation live:
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2011/02/03/f-egypt-live.html
Another disappointment re: wind farms in Ontario herein:
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/02/11/ont-wind-farms.html
Seems like the battle to contain civilization continues, doesn't it?
More in a bit on other stuff...
CBC's watching the aftermath of the Mubarak Resignation live:
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2011/02/03/f-egypt-live.html
Another disappointment re: wind farms in Ontario herein:
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/02/11/ont-wind-farms.html
Seems like the battle to contain civilization continues, doesn't it?
More in a bit on other stuff...
Okay, I've been reading up on this whole mess of opinions on the rescued members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams in the wake of what some are calling a "rescue" and others a "release". I don't imagine that my own point of view is going to count for much one way or the other, but I'm going to put it out there on the web for consideration anyway since I have a spare moment.
Point One: Both the "rescue" and "release" camps are probably right. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out the ex-hostages managed -- by strength of wit and will, with a bit of help from public opinion in Iraq and elsewhere -- to talk their captors into simply leaving them alone in the building that Coalition forces and others recovered them from, in the days after Tom Fox was killed. How their captors knew to time their departure so well as to ensure that no shots were fired in the rescue/recovery operation, I'll leave for others to either discover or explain. I have my own theories, but I have no evidence for any of them.
Point Two: the opinions held on the subject of the attitudes of the ex-hostages...there are a lot of people whom I'm holding in low esteem today, ranging from Charles Adler at the Ottawa Sun to Rex Murphy via the Globe and Mail. I see a lot of calls for a "thank you" or "apologies for the inconvenience" from the ex-hostages, calls that I'm not entirely sure ought to be spoken, much less heeded.
Why do I believe this? Because it risks adding up to demanding that the CPT personnel speak as hypocrites, or -- worse -- agree to renounce and denounce the philosophy and ethics that led them to take informed risks with their own safety. No one else's. They specifically asked not to have armed personnel risk their own safety for theirs.
I'm not saying I agree with the organization's philosophy on all points because I don't. But I'm not ready to condemn them for "walking their talk" either.
If this doesn't make much sense, so be it. I needed to vent.
Addendum: Some of you may be puzzled by my reference to the current goings-on in Iraq as "Persian Gulf III". My personal interpretation of history considers the Iran-Iraq War to be the First Persian Gulf War. Apparently, some who work on Wikipedia share my opinion on the subject.
Point One: Both the "rescue" and "release" camps are probably right. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out the ex-hostages managed -- by strength of wit and will, with a bit of help from public opinion in Iraq and elsewhere -- to talk their captors into simply leaving them alone in the building that Coalition forces and others recovered them from, in the days after Tom Fox was killed. How their captors knew to time their departure so well as to ensure that no shots were fired in the rescue/recovery operation, I'll leave for others to either discover or explain. I have my own theories, but I have no evidence for any of them.
Point Two: the opinions held on the subject of the attitudes of the ex-hostages...there are a lot of people whom I'm holding in low esteem today, ranging from Charles Adler at the Ottawa Sun to Rex Murphy via the Globe and Mail. I see a lot of calls for a "thank you" or "apologies for the inconvenience" from the ex-hostages, calls that I'm not entirely sure ought to be spoken, much less heeded.
Why do I believe this? Because it risks adding up to demanding that the CPT personnel speak as hypocrites, or -- worse -- agree to renounce and denounce the philosophy and ethics that led them to take informed risks with their own safety. No one else's. They specifically asked not to have armed personnel risk their own safety for theirs.
I'm not saying I agree with the organization's philosophy on all points because I don't. But I'm not ready to condemn them for "walking their talk" either.
If this doesn't make much sense, so be it. I needed to vent.
Addendum: Some of you may be puzzled by my reference to the current goings-on in Iraq as "Persian Gulf III". My personal interpretation of history considers the Iran-Iraq War to be the First Persian Gulf War. Apparently, some who work on Wikipedia share my opinion on the subject.
